‘Jeopardy!’ Viewers Call Out Wrong Answer on Show

Martin Holmes July 16, 2021, 8:22 am

George Stephanopoulos on Jeopardy! — CBS/YouTube

Jeopardy! is known as one of the smartest shows on television, but viewers noticed a rare mistake during the Thursday, July 15 episode.

When it came to the “Time For Science” category, current guest-host George Stephanopoulos gave a clue about Percival Lowell, the famed astronomer and mathematician. “Percival Lowell thought he saw these on the surface of Venus — some think it was a reflection of the blood vessels in his eye,” Stephanopoulos read.

Current reigning champion Tyler Vandenberg, a Marine from the Washington, D.C. area, quickly buzzed in with the answer, “What are canals?” Vandenberg was told his answer was correct, and he was rewarded with $1,600 to add to his prize pot. However, fans on social media were quick to point out that the show had made an error in the wording of its clue, therefore technically making Vandenberg’s answer incorrect.

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The mistake in question is that while Lowell did write a lot about discovering the possibility of canals on another planet, that planet was actually Mars, not Venus. Lowell also wrote about Venus, which he claimed featured “spokes,” but many believe this was caused by the shadows of blood vessels cast on the retina of his own eye.

Pretty sure @Jeopardy made a mistake in one of its clues tonight. Lowell was known for believing he saw canals on Mars, not Venus.

— Samuel Pomerantz (@hopefulastro) July 15, 2021

Percival Lowell thought there were canals on MARS, not Venus. Big booboo on part of @Jeopardy. #jeopardy

— Lindaama 🇺🇲🌈🌊 (@LindaAma) July 15, 2021

I think @Jeopardy had a wrong answer/question tonight… the answer was “Percival Lowell observed these features on Venus that scholars think were his own blood vessels,” & they allowed ‘canals.’ He famously observed canals on Mars, what he saw on Venus he described as spokes.

— Sam Cox (@sammyringo) July 15, 2021

@Jeopardy a clue today was incorrect. It claimed Percival Lowell thought there were canals on Venus. He really thought he observed canals on Mars.

— James Szafran (@szafranjim) July 15, 2021

Despite the flub, viewers didn’t seem too upset as Vandenberg took control of the board and went on to claim his second straight victory.

So glad the US Marine won this one! Oooh-Rah!

— THE POKER PATRIOT Cathy (@cathywithwings) July 15, 2021

Stephanopoulos, a former White House Communications Director and current anchor for Good Morning America, is the latest in a series of guest-hosts to take the Jeopardy! reigns following Alex Trebek‘s passing. While used to presenting live television, Stephanopoulos stated there is added pressure when it comes to hosting the long-running CBS game show.

“It’s just a very different beast from what I do every single day,” he recently said in an interview with Jeopardy! producers. “You have to be perfect. That’s what the viewers expect. That’s what they deserve.”

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